European Patent Publication No. 163,859 discloses a garbage-collecting truck which is provided with a container of the type generally described hereinbefore. The container serves to receive garbage and is replaceable, being locked by releasable couplings to the chassis of the truck. The truck also includes a pouring unit, which is fixedly connected to the container, as well as conveying and compacting means for feeding the garbage into the container through its entrance opening when the garbage has been charged into the receiving opening of the pouring unit. In the known container the entrance opening can be closed by a shutter which is movable by a hydraulic cylinder, which is a part of the pouring unit and which is provided with suitable pawls and coupling means. The shutter may become canted or may be clamped by objects which are retained in the tracks in which the shutter is moved and guided. Moreover, the shutter cannot be used if there are parts which protrude over the entrance opening, such as protruding lugs or eyelets which are connected to the end wall of the container and serve to couple the container to the truck or other means for moving the same, or similar parts which are disposed in the guide path, tracks or skids on which the shutter is slidable.
European Patent Publication No. 235,824 discloses a container which is of the first kind described hereinbefore and which has an entrance opening that is closed by a flap. The flap is pivoted about a pivot between open and closed positions. In the use of this known container, a relatively large space is required for the movement of the flap and such space may not always be available, particularly when the entrance opening is to be opened or closed when the container is mounted on the garbage-collecting truck.
There exists, therefore, a need for a container which does not exhibit the above-mentioned disadvantages and for this reason it is an objective of the invention to provide such a container which comprises a cover that can move within a small space between open and closed positions.